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Technics and Civilization Paperback – October 30, 2010

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Lewis Mumford (Author)
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Lewis Mumford (Author), Langdon Winner (Foreword)
3.7 out of 5 stars 14 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 528 pages
  • Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; Reprint edition (October 30, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0226550273
  • ISBN-13: 978-0226550275
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.3 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #586,452 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsThe First Critique of the Myth of Technology
By Parker Benchley VINE VOICE on November 23, 2000
Format: Paperback
Lewis Mumford is widely regarded as a critic of architecture, but his true importance in intellectual history is as a critic of technology and the myth of progress that accompanies technology, making it seem as if every technological advance is a step forward in civilization. That the events from 1945 onward dispute this claim would seem evident, but themselves are brushed over in favor of the prevailing paradigm.
Mumford was the first to take a critical look at technology and its accompanying mythos, and even though this book was later surpassed by his masterpiece, The Myth of the Machine, it is still worth reading for its approach to the tenor of its time (written during the Depression).
You can safely ignore the last chapters when Mumford attempts to offer an alternative to the technological society. Like most critics, he is mercifully short on alternatives. (Considering what alternatives were given humanity over the centuries, you can understand why I said that.) Until we truly understand technology and the role it has taken in our lives, we will be no closer to a solution than Mumford was in the Thirties.
For anyone who wishes to study the intellectual history of the West, this is an indispensible volume.
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3.0 out of 5 starsReview of the 2010 University of Chicago Press Edition
By C. McDonald on November 8, 2010
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Readers should be aware that the 2010 University of Chicago Press edition of Technics and Civilization omits Mumford's 15 pages of photographs. As an excuse they say that such a reproduction is neither "practical" nor "necessary," instead they provide a set of search terms that may or may not allow one to find each image on the Internet.

I am, to say the least, disappointed by this decision. 1) Given that most of these images are out of copyright and are readily available (if nothing else, one could simply scan them from an earlier edition of the book) what are the practical obstacles to reproduction? 2) The ability to interrupt one's reading to search for and possibly find a particular image on the Internet is hardly a viable substitute for having images embedded in the text.

I suggest that readers find an earlier, complete edition of this work, if possible.
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1.0 out of 5 starsChicago edition fail
By Robert W. on February 9, 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
How in the world did Chicago decide that Mumford's images were a) not "practical" or "necessary" to include in this edition b) still important enough that they include the original captions and--I am not making this up--a list of hilariously unhelpful "keywords" with which we're supposed to search on the Internet for the images, or else "similar" ones?

One can only assume Chicago, which regularly ruins manuscripts that should have more or better images in them than they do, just refused to pay the 500 bucks it would have taken to prep the b&w images in photoshop and print them in the book. The Chicago explanation makes it sound like it's harder to process images now than it was in 1934! Totally ridiculous.
What a tragedy! I'd been so long waiting for this book to come back in print. Still, I think I'll keep my copy as a cautionary tale for authors considering Chicago. Ugh.
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3.0 out of 5 starsGreat book, mediocre edition
By bobdc on February 26, 2012
Format: Paperback
A fascinating book that, despite being obviously dated in places (it is almost 80 years old), can still teach us much. Clearly a seminal work in the emerging field of Science, Technology, and Society.

The 2010 Chicago Press edition is weak. There are typos (e.g. "along with a much needed a willingness" in the foreword), and the note from the publisher "It is not practical to reproduce those images here--nor is it necessary, in an age when readers can find the same, or similar images on the Internet" is insultingly clueless. When people pay you money for hard copy books, you're supposed to provide something not easily available on the Internet, if only the assemblage of text and relevant images into a coherent whole. It's called editing. I'm guessing that reproducing the images in the book was not in their budget; they could have provided a web page with links to these image "or similar images" instead of telling the readers who paid for this book to run off and do the publisher's work for them.
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4.0 out of 5 starsThe machine does not dominate man, but man dominates the machine.
By James Hoogerwerf on January 12, 2008
Format: Paperback
Mumford reaches back over a thousand years in search of an explanation of how Western Civilization developed culturally and materially. He refutes the contention that mechanical progress began in Britain during the Industrial Revolution and argues that man had used machine instruments for at least the previous seven centuries.

In Europe machines became a part of the whole fabric of cultural life. Mumford distinguishes the machine, a mechanism to modify the environment for human benefit, and " `The machine,' ...a shorthand reference to the entire technological complex."(12) Furthermore a tool and machine are distinguished by the skill and dexterity of the operator and, whereas "utensils, apparatus, and utilities" refer to chemical transformations (brewing, for example), machines "transform the environment by changing the shape and location of objects."(11)

Mumford identifies three overlapping and interdependent periods where machines and society interacted to define modern industrial culture. The eotechnic phase began in about the tenth century and was characterized by water and wood; the Paleotechnic phase emerged in the eighteenth century and was characterized by coal and iron; and third, or present Neotechnic phase, is characterized by electricity and alloys. Leading up to each of these periods, society experienced a period of cultural preparation and adaptation.

Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the monastery was a refuge of order. Within the sanctity of its walls, the clock regulated routine and discipline. Thus, according to Mumford, "the clock, not the steam engine, is the key machine of the modern industrial age.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsAhead of its time

Even in 2015, Mumford's writing and insights are fresh and provocative. A fascinating read.

Published 9 months ago by MJ
2.0 out of 5 starsDisappointed! A lot to read for what you get in return.

Did not like this book at all. I know it is a classic; however the author is too wordy. Much fewer words could have conveyed the same thoughts. Too long, and too controversial. Read more

Published on December 2, 2013 by PH
1.0 out of 5 starsSweeping Generalizations

Mumford takes very few facts and weaves them into a simplistic view of history. He says things that more current historians know are not true -- not just passing along incorrect... Read more

Published on April 8, 2012 by Lorraine Gehring
5.0 out of 5 starsAn invaluable intellectual and cultural history of technology

Lewis Mumford's, Technics and Civilization, may be one of the most important and influential works concerning technological progress in Western Civilization and its cultural and... Read more

Published on August 8, 2006 by Jeff Hendricks
4.0 out of 5 starsWordy

This book is a historical interpretation of the effect of technology on society. Mumford traces the Industrial Revolution to its earliest roots, which he argues, go back to the... Read more

Published on May 31, 2005 by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsWorth the time spent reading!

Mumford has got to be one of the most over-looked (by main-stream) social critics of our time. He covers and unravels our confusing society so well, even though this book was... Read more

Published on September 3, 2003 by Warren Fritze
5.0 out of 5 starsComplete

From the beginning of time, technology has affected our lives. Learn how every invention (from the greatest milestone of them all: the clock) through history influences society and... Read more

Published on May 13, 2002
5.0 out of 5 starsTechnics and Civilization, a vital 20th Century work

Mumford is widely considered the first modern person to write critically about the intricate relationship between human technology and human civilization. Read more

Published on September 26, 1998

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